Measuring Radon gas (symbol Rn and atomic number 86) is important where I live.
#radon
Hi,
Is the radon measurement important on constant manner?
In Finland areas where radon gas is known issue it’s a mandatory to take into consideration when the house is build. In other areas it’s recommended to make one-off at least two months measurement every 5-10 years (between 1st of September and 31st of May) and if there are too high levels then it’s important to make changes to the house.
One reason for constant radon measurement could be monitoring of radon fan / ventilation.
Br. Henri
Here, a Radon test by a certified company is only required when the house is sold.
Buying a kit from the hardware store, exposing it following instructions and then mailing it in for analysis was a hassle and I would forget to do it at the recommended interval. Ambient testing seemed the way to go for peace of mind.
I ended buying an AirThings from Amazon $230 USD.
bobh
Here’s recommendations by Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority in Finland
When and how often should radon be measured?
The average radon concentration in a property can change due to many reasons. STUK is aware of cases where the sub-slab suction was broken without anyone noticing. As a result, human radon exposure was as high as before the radon mitigation. The pressure ratios of the property may also change, for example, after a window replacement: if significant amounts of replacement air came through the cracks in the old windows, the underpressure of the room may increase due to the new, tight windows, the ventilation may become weaker and the radon concentration may increase significantly. Therefore, the renewal of windows also counts as an essential change.
STUK recommends that indoor radon measurement be repeated in dwellings, workplaces and other occupied spaces
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every ten years if the previous radon concentration was higher than 100 Bq/m3
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every ten years if the reduction of the radon concentration below the reference level was achieved by radon mitigation
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every five years if a lower concentration than the reference level was achieved by radon mitigation and the radon concentration before the mitigation was higher than 1,000 Bq/m3
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as soon as possible after the building has undergone substantial structural or ventilation-related construction or alteration work (e.g. replacement of concrete slab, drains or ventilation).
Here, they generally leave regulation up to the states. I live in a state called “Iowa”
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According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average indoor radon level in Iowa is more than six times the national average.
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Approximately 71.6% of homes in Iowa have radon levels above the EPA’s recommended action level of 4 pCi/L.
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Five counties in Iowa have an average indoor radon level of 10 pCi/L or higher.
The statistics are depressing. 22,000 lung cancer deaths for non-smokers in “Iowa” — a small state. And there are other factors in an agricultural area like “Iowa”
Hi,
Apart from the initial unofficial confirmation/estimation of radon levels, I believe that the main reason/use case would be the one you mentioned - validating the performance of the radon mitigation system. As you highlighted, STUK, for example, is aware of cases where the equipment has broken without anyone noticing. Radon mitigation systems are installed by default to a lot of new homes e.g. in Finland so there are a lot of potential users for the mentioned purpose. It’s just that people are still not that educated about radon, for whatever reason.
I have to admit that I was quite disappointed to find out that you have included all the other important air quality sensors but left radon out. Was this ever considered? How about releasing a ‘pro’ version with a radon sensor?
For this particular purpose, for now I need to stick with competitor’s inferior product while I would have preferred to use only high quality Ruuvi sensors in our home.
Br,
Samuli